1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate reversing device and substrate reversing method for reversing a substrate, relates to a substrate transporting device and substrate transporting method for transporting a substrate, and relates to a substrate processing device and substrate processing method for applying given processes to a substrate.
2. Description of the Background Art
The manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, liquid crystal display or the like involves a variety of processes applied to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, glass substrate or the like. The variety of processes include cleaning, resist coating, exposure, development, etching, ion implantation, resist removal, formation of interlayer insulating films, thermal treatment, and the like.
In the cleaning process, contaminants such as particles attached on the substrate are removed. As patterns have recently become finer, the cleaning process has attracted attention as a particularly important process.
For example, in transporting the substrate to each processing unit for the variety of processes, a transporting robot supports the edge and back surface of the substrate by the hand to transport the substrate. During this transport, particles attached on the hand of the transporting robot can sometimes settle on the back surface of the substrate. During the above-mentioned variety of processes, the particles attached on the back surface of the substrate may move onto the top surface of the substrate (pattern formation surface) to adversely affect the formation of a pattern on the substrate. For this reason, not only the top surface but also the back surface of the substrate must be cleaned.
In general, a cleaning device that performs the cleaning process of a substrate is capable of cleaning only one surface of a substrate at a time. Therefore, a substrate reversing device that reverses a substrate is employed (refer to JP 2003-59885 A).
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the appearance of a conventional substrate reversing device.
As shown in FIG. 13, the conventional substrate reversing device 900 has a substrate supporting member 950 that is moved upward and downward by means of a lifting device (not shown). The substrate supporting member 950 is mounted with a plurality of substrate supporting pins 960 for supporting the back and edge surfaces of a substrate W.
In addition, a pair of chucks 970 for seizing the ends of the substrate W being supported on the plurality of substrate supporting pins 960 are arranged above the substrate supporting member 950. The pair of chucks 970 are supported by a reversing mechanism 980 that rotates about the horizontal axis.
Next, operations of the substrate reversing device 900 of FIG. 13 will be described. FIG. 14 through FIG. 16 are schematic diagrams showing operations of the substrate reversing device 900 of FIG. 13. FIGS. 14(a1), 14(a2), 14(a3), FIGS. 15(a4), 15(a5), 15(a6), and FIGS. 16(a7), 16(a8) are each schematic side views showing the substrate reversing device 900. FIGS. 14(b1), 14(b2), 14(b3), FIGS. 15(b4), 15(b5), 15(b6), and FIGS. 16(b7), 16(b8) are each schematic plan views showing the substrate reversing device 900.
(1) Step of Placing a Substrate
As shown in FIG. 14(a1), the substrate W is first carried onto the substrate supporting member 950. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14(b1), the pair of chucks 970 are open.
(2) Step of Moving the Substrate Supporting Member Upward
Next, as shown in FIG. 14(a2), the substrate supporting member 950 supporting the substrate W moves upward in the direction of an arrow y, and stops in a position that the pair of chucks 970 can seize the both ends of the substrate W. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14(b2), the pair of chucks 970 are open.
(3) Step of Supporting the Substrate
After this, as shown in FIG. 14(b3), the pair of chucks 970 seize the ends of the substrate W. Thus, the substrate W is transferred to the pair of chucks 970 from the substrate supporting member 950.
(4) Step of Moving the Substrate Supporting Member Downward
Next, as shown in FIG. 15(a4), the substrate supporting member 950 moves down in the direction of an arrow −y to a position that the substrate supporting member 950 does not interfere with the pair of rotating chucks 970.
(5) Step of Reversing the Substrate
Then, as shown in FIGS. 15(a5) and 15(b5), the reversing mechanism 980 rotates 180 degrees the pair of chucks 970.
(6) Step of Moving the Substrate Supporting Member Upward
Then, as shown in FIGS. 15(a6), 15(b6), the substrate supporting member 950 moves upward in the direction of the arrow y, and stops in a position that the substrate supporting pins 960 can support the substrate W being supported on the pair of chucks 970.
(7) Step of Releasing the Substrate
After that, as shown in FIG. 16(b7), the pair of chucks 970 release the ends of the substrate W that have been seized. Thus, the substrate W that has been supported on the pair of chucks 970 is transferred onto the substrate supporting member 950, as shown in FIG. 16(a7).
(8) Step of Carrying the Substrate Out
Finally, as shown in FIGS. 16(a8), 16(b8), the substrate supporting member 950 supporting the substrate W moves downward in the direction of the arrow −y. Then, the substrate W is carried out of the substrate supporting member 950.
As described above, the process of reversing the substrate W using the conventional substrate reversing device 900 completes in eight steps.
However, the number of steps in reversing the substrate W using the conventional substrate processing device 900 is large, thus requiring a long time.
Moreover, prior to the step of rotating the substrate W, the substrate supporting member 950 have to be moved downward to such a position as to avoid the interference with the pair of chucks 970 and substrate W. This increases the size of the substrate reversing device 900.
In addition, three of the drive systems are necessary, i.e., the lifting device (not shown) for moving the substrate supporting member 950 upward and downward; reversing mechanism 980; and a substrate seizing mechanism (not shown) for the pair of chucks 970. This results in an increased parts count and increased number of exchanges of consumable items, leading to a high cost.